Amber Portwood Enters Guilty Plea In Boyfriend Battery Case

MTV’s Teen Mom Amber Portwood has plead guilty to assaulting on-again/off-again boyfriend Gary Shirley during a taping of the hit reality show that sparked controversy when it aired last fall.

The then-20-year-olf Portwood was arrested by police in Anderson, Indiana after a September episode showed her slapping, choking, and kicking Shirley, then-24-year-old father of her daughter Leah, as the child sat nearby. Portwood appeared in an Indiana courtroom on Thursday, where she entered a guilty plea to two counts of felony domestic battery, avoiding a sentence that could have seen her sentenced to up to three years in jail and a fine of $10,000, The Herald Bulletin has learned. As part of the plea deal, Judge David Happe of the Madison County gave Amber a two-year suspended sentence and placed the young mother on two years probation.

Additionally, two charges of felony neglect of a dependent and misdemeanor domestic battery were dropped by the court. Prosecutors have dropped a felony child neglect charge against Portwood, clearing the way for her to reclaim custody of her two-year-old daughter Leah, who has been living with Shirley while her mother battled legal woes. Happe also ordered Portwood to undergo 30 days of inpatient therapy, obtain her high school diploma, and put $10,000 in a college fund for Leah.